Tonight, I didn’t even open a recipe book. I am challenging myself to be more creative and to think outside of the box. One of my biggest hurdles is fear. I cannot be afraid of failing. I need to come to terms with the reality that everything I make will not taste good and that is okay. If the dish is not good, it just gives me opportunity to learn and improve both my culinary skills and flavor profile.
There were three main parts to my dish: the steak, the carrot puree, and the potatoes. The two successes were my steak and potato. The failure was my carrot puree. For the meat, I used a strip steak. I made an herb butter paste to coat the steak. The herb butter paste included butter, mustard, shallots, and garlic. I added in savory, parsley flakes, and basil. Salt and pepper to taste. To thicken my paste I added a freshly grated parmesan and panko. I spread the paste on the top and sides of the steak. To cook my steak, I heated oil in a cast iron skillet until shimmering. I then begin searing my steak. After the steak seared for a couple of minutes, I threw in some potatoes and sliced shallots. I placed the skillet in the oven heated to 400 degrees. I cooked the steak between 15 to 20 minutes, depending on desired doneness.
The roasted potatoes were a success, by mistake. I had preheated my oven to 450 degrees to roast carrots and onion for my carrot puree. I threw the potatoes on as an afterthought. I quartered the potatoes and tossed the potatoes, carrots, and onions in salt, pepper, and olive oil. I roasted the carrots, onions, and potatoes approximately 30 minutes on a cookie sheet until the carrots and onions were easily pierced with a fork. When I pulled out the vegetables, the potatoes were still not completely cooked. I placed the carrots and onions in the food processor for my puree and tossed my potatoes into the skillet with steak and sliced shallots before placing the steak in the oven.
I wasn’t sure what to put in my carrot puree. I started with carrot and onion. I added a half of a small diced shallot and one clove of garlic. I poured about 3 T of olive, 2 T of white vinegar, and dash of Worcestershire. I seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. The flavor just wasn’t right. The puree had too much of a bite. I added a little water and milk which tempered the vinegar flavor a little bit.
The herbed butter tasted fantastic. Some of the herbed butter became a little blackened in the oven so I spooned a little over the top of the steak when serving. The herb butter also added a lot of flavor to the potatoes as well after tossing the potatoes and shallot in the skillet. There were many aromatic and rich flavors. My four year old was just upset that there were not enough potatoes to have thirds. I will make this dish again, especially the steak and potato. I will be working on my carrot puree recipe. Open for suggestions!
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